The stock decline resumed last week after a middling prior week, with the major averages losing ground every day but Thursday. While national and international developments provided a worrying backdrop, the market seemed to be mostly influenced by disappointing earnings and equally disappointing guidance from some bellwether stock earnings reports.

After a lackluster lineup the past two weeks, I am personally heartened by a more impressive lineup this week of stocks on my lists going ex-dividend in the week ahead. These are listed following by date, with annualized yield as of Friday’s close indicated. Assume the standard quarterly payout schedule unless otherwise indicated.

Enerplus (ERF), 0.97%. ERF pays monthly.

Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPD), 6.45%.

AGNC Investment (AGNC), 11.96%. AGNC is a monthly payer.

Plains All American Pipeline LP (PAA), 5.35%.

STAG Industrial (STAG), 5.28%. STAG is a monthly payer.

Alliant Energy (LNT), 3.08%.

Kinder Morgan (KMI), 4.83%. 

Prospect Capital (PSEC), 10.73%. PSEC is a monthly payer.

Tanger Factory Outlet Centers (SKT), 6.32%.

Hi Crush Partners LP (HCLP), 18.11%.

Hoegh LNG Partners LP (HMLP), 9.90%.

Realty Income (O), 4.39%. O pays monthly.

Paychex (PAYX), 3.45%.

Eaton (ETN), 3.66%.

Unilever (UL), 3.34%.

ONEOK (OKE), 5.29%.

HCP Inc (HCP), 5.48%.

A number of firms that I follow will be reporting earnings next week, as listed following by date:

PotlatchDeltic (PCH), Ensco PLC (ESV), Transocean LTD (RIG).

Coca Cola (KO), Crestwood Equity Partners LP (CEQP), Eaton (ETN), General Electric (GE), Pfizer (PFE), Public Service Enterprise Group (PEG), Apollo Investment (AINV), B&G Foods (BGS), Hi Crush Partners LP (HCLP), ONEOK (OKE), Welltower (WELL).

Ares Capital (ARCC), Chimera Investment (CIM), Diebold Nixdorf (DBD), Entergy (ETR), Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPD), Exelon (EXC), HCP Inc (HCP), Kellogg (K), Sanofi (SNY), Annaly Capital Management (NLY), Realty Income (O), Williams Companies (WMB), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Legacy Reserves (LGCY).

Magellan Midstream Partners LP (MMP), Medical Properties Trust (MPW), Pitney Bowes (PBI), Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.B), Main Street Capital (MAIN), Spectra Energy Partners LP (SEP), Hercules Capital (HTGC), Kraft Heinz (KHC), STAG Industrial (STAG), Tanger Factory Outlet Centers (SKT), Buckeye Partners LP (BPL), Safety Insurance Group (SAFT), Park Hotels Resorts (PK). 

Chevron (CVX), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Duke Energy (DUK).

A couple of new names have been listed preceding that have not yet been added to my lists. I will be adding the following firms to my Tier 3 list soon:

Chimera Investment (CIM), a Mortgage REIT yielding over 11%.

Coventa Holding (CVA), a firm specializing in facilities generating energy from waste, which yields over 6%.

Hoegh LNG Partners LP (HMLP), a partnership involved in exporting LNG, yielding over 9%.

Hi Crush Partners LP (HCLP), a partnership supplying sand for onshore drilling, yielding a whopping 18%.

Park Hotels Resorts (PK), a REIT yielding nearly 6%.

Upgrades / downgrades / initiations / reiterations coming out last week regarding my stocks were as follows:

AT&T (T) was upgraded from Neutral to Buy at Tigress Financial.

Intel (INTC) was reiterated at Buy at B. Riley FBR.

Barrick Gold (ABX) was downgraded from OutPerform to Neutral at Macquarie.

Digital Realty (DLR) was upgraded from Neutral to Buy at Guggenheim.

Horizon Technology Finance (HRZN) was downgraded to UnderPerform at Keefe Bruyette & Woods.

Intel (INTC) was upgraded from Neutral to Buy at Nomura.

Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) was initiated at Equal Weight at Capital One Financial.

Exxon Mobil (XOM) was initiated at Neutral at Piper Jaffray.

Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.B) was initiated at Neutral at Piper Jaffray.

Chevron (CVX) was initiated at OverWeight at Piper Jaffray.

Total S A (TOT) was initiated at OverWeight at Piper Jaffray.

Hershey Co (HSY) was reiterated at Neutral at Susquehanna.

Hi-Crush Partners LP (HCLP) was reiterated at Buy at B. Riley FBR.

Procter & Gamble (PG) was reiterated at Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Washington Real Estate (WRE) was upgraded from Sell to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.

McDonalds (MCD) was reiterated at OutPerform at Telsey Advisory Group, and at OverWeight at KeyBanc.

Kimberly Clark (KMB) was reiterated at Sell at Citigroup.

3M Co (MMM) was reiterated at Buy at Citigroup.

Verizon (VZ) was reiterated at OverWeight at JP Morgan.

Darden Restaurants (DRI) was initiated at Buy at Loop Capital.

United Parcel Service (UPS) was downgraded from Buy to Neutral at Bank of America.

Intel (INTC) was reiterated at UnderWeight at Barclays, at OutPerform at BMO Capital, at Buy at Needham and also at B. Riley FBR, Nomura, and Roth Capital, at Market Perform at Cowen, at Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley, and Positive at Susquehanna. Interesting that after a positive earnings report, all of these firms reiterated the rating that they had previously held on INTC, and none changed their opinion.

Colgate Palmolive (CL) was downgraded from Buy to Hold at SunTrust.

American Electric Power (AEP) was reiterated at Buy at Bank of America.

AGNC Investment (AGNC) was reiterated at Equal Weight at Barclays.

Note my usual admonition regarding analyst ratings, which is that I report these as being of interest, but not as actionable advice. My advice remains to buy under a set price or to sell over a set price, for Tiers 1, 2, and 3, and avoid if on Tier 4. Further, be aware of the risk associated with whichever list the stock is on. For example, if you are somewhat risk averse, stick with Tiers 1 and 2, and avoid the Tier 3 stocks. Of course, if you are extremely risk adverse, I suggest you avoid stocks altogether.

Well, another week, another batch of declines. October has definitely been spooky for stock investors, and it is not over yet. Of course, if stocks never declined unless or until they deserved to, there would never be any stock bargains available, which can happen when good stocks get dragged down by a general market selloff. That is the real trick, figuring out which stocks fall into that category, then buying them when the selloff seems to be about over.  Easy to say, hard to do, but in my opinion, an approach that works, even when not executed to perfection.  

JT

Stocks gyrated last week, with a major advance on Tuesday and a decline on Thursday of nearly the same magnitude, with the result being a minimal gain for the Dow Industrials, the S&P 500 finishing flat, and the NASDAQ declining modestly. As usual, the major topic in the news was not the stock market, even as we head deeper into earnings season, but rather geo-political developments. The apparent slaying of a Saudi journalist, who had criticized the regime, by Saudi Intelligence agents has come at a most inconvenient time for the President. The relationship between the US and the Kingdom has always been more of a necessity than one the US public and Congress could whole-heartedly support, and the administration really has no good options on how to deal with the crisis the rash young Saudi ruler has brought on.

There are only three stocks on my lists going ex-dividend in the week ahead, which are:

Blackstone Group LP (BX), 10/26/2018, yield 6.86%.

Senior Housing Properties Trust (SNH), 10/26/2018, yield 9.16%.

Enerplus (ERF), 10/29/2018, yield 0.87%. ERF pays monthly. With a payout of one cent $CAN per share generating a yield of less than 1%, I doubt if any holders of ERF are giddy in anticipation of the dividend.

On the other hand, there are a number of firms I follow scheduled to report earnings next week, listed following by date:

10/22/2018

Kimberly Clark (KMB).

10/23/2018

3M Co (MMM), McDonalds (MCD), NextEra Energy (NEE), Verizon (VZ).

10/24/2018

AGNC Investment (AGNC), AT&T (T), Freeport McMoRan (FCX), United Parcel Service (UPS), Barrick Gold (ABX), Martin Midstream Partners LP (MMLP), Washington Prime Group (WPG).

10/25/2018

Altria (MO), American Electric Power (AEP), Hershey Co (HSY), Iron Mountain (IRM), Kimco Realty (KIM), Merck (MRK), Newmont Mining (NEM), Waste Management (WM), Digital Realty (DLR), Intel (INTC), Washington Real Estate (WRE), Covanta Holding (CVA).

10/26/2018

Colgate Palmolive (CL), Ventas (VTR), Eni S p A (E), Total S A (TOT).

Upgrades / downgrades / initiations / reiterations coming out last week regarding my stocks were as follows:

Nucor (NUE) was downgraded from OutPerform to Neutral at Credit Suisse.

McDonalds (MCD) was upgraded from Inline to OutPerform at Evercore ISI.

Altria (MO) was initiated at Market Perform at Bernstein.

Merck (MRK) was reiterated at Buy at Citigroup.

Phillip Morris (PM) was initiated at OutPerform at Bernstein.

ONEOK (OKE) was upgraded from Hold to Buy at Jeffries.

Colgate Palmolive (CL) was reiterated at Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

Hi Crush Partners LP (HCLP) was downgraded to UnderPerform at Jeffries.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) was reiterated at OutPerform at Raymond James, and also at Credit Suisse.

Public Service Enterprise Group (PEG) was reiterated at Buy at Argus.

Entergy (ETR) was reiterated at Buy at Citigroup.

Freeport McMoRan (FCX) was reiterated at Neutral at Citigroup.

Kimberly Clark (KMB) was reiterated at Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

Ensco (ESV) was upgraded from Accumulate to Buy at Johnson Rice.

Transocean (RIG) was upgraded from Sell to Hold at Johnson Rice.

Noble Corp PLC (NE) was upgraded from Sell to Reduce at Fearnleys.

Transocean (RIG) was upgraded from Accumulate to Buy at Fearnleys.

Nucor (NUE) was reiterated at Buy at Citigroup.

Phillip Morris (PM) was reiterated at Buy at Citigroup.

McDonalds (MCD) was initiated at Buy at Gordon Haskett.

Procter & Gamble (PG) was upgraded from Neutral to OverWeight at JP Morgan.

ONEOK (OKE) was upgraded from Neutral to Buy at Seaport Global Securities.

Another week, another batch of earnings, plus who knows what on the national and international fronts. Certainly, with what has been described as the most critical mid-term election in a generation having two weeks to go, and the ongoing international crisis stemming from the (presumed) actions of the Saudi government, it is pretty likely that the headlines won’t be dominated by quarterly earnings reports. Still, the earnings as reported, along with any accompanying guidance, certainly can move individual stocks, and often entire sectors. This is no time to take a mental vacation from following one’s investments. It is when stocks move that positions can most advantageously be added to or reduced. Of course, oftentimes the best thing to do is nothing.

JT

After a brief pause on Monday, stocks resumed on Tuesday the decline that had begun on Wednesday of the prior week, accelerating towards the downside on Wednesday and Thursday, before finally halting the slide on Friday. Since October 3^rd, the Dow Industrials Stock Index has declined almost 1500 points, with all the major averages experiencing similar percentage declines. It seems as if the market, having been distracted by the insanity in Washington D.C. for the last few weeks, suddenly woke up and noticed, “hey, the Fed is raising interest rates”. It is worth noting that we had a larger decline than what we experienced the last eight days in the first half of February 2018. After that dip, it was not until September 2018 that all of the February losses in the stock averages were regained. Of course, the question now is whether the new declines will continue, and if so, for how long?

While no one likes to see the market value of one’s holdings take a hit, it can be somewhat soothed over when one counts up the dividends that continue to flow into one’s accounts. Stocks on my lists going ex-dividend in the upcoming week are listed as follows:

Horizon Technology Finance (HRZN), 10/17/2018, yield 10.44%. HRZN, a BDC, pays monthly.     

Gladstone Investment (GAIN), 10/18/2018, yield 7.63%. GAIN is also a monthly-paying BDC.

Procter & Gamble (PG), 10/18/2018, yield 3.64%.

Main Street Capital (MAIN), 10/18/2018, yield 6.35%. MAIN is yet another monthly-paying BDC.

Colgate Palmolive (CL), 10/18/2018, yield 2.69%.

Note that both GAIN and MAIN have announced an extra “bonus” dividend for December, in addition to their regular monthly December dividend. Buying before 10/18/2018 and holding through December will permit the holder to receive the monthly dividend for each of the next three months, plus the extra December payout.

Earnings season begins next week. Pundits have stated that this quarter’s results should be positive, and possibly will eventually help to stop the market’s slide, if it continues. Stocks on my lists scheduled to report are as follows:

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), 10/16/2018.

Crown Castle International (CCI), 10/17/2018.

Kinder Morgan (KMI), 10/17/2018.

Blackstone Group LP (BX), 10/18/2018.

Novartis (NVS), 10/18/2018.

Nucor (NUE), 10/18/2018.

Phillip Morris (PM), 10/18/2018.

Procter & Gamble (PG), 10/18/2018.

Upgrades / downgrades / initiations / reiterations coming out last week regarding my stocks were as follows:

Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPD) was reiterated at OutPerform at Wells Fargo.

General Electric (GE) was upgraded to OverWeight at Barclays.

Kimberly Clark (KMB) was downgraded from Buy to Neutral at Goldman.

Vodafone (VOD) was downgraded to Hold at Jeffries.

Ensco (ESV) was upgraded from Market Perform to OutPerform at Wells Fargo.

Magellan Midstream Partners LP (MMP) was downgraded to Neutral at Goldman.

General Electric (GE) was reiterated at Neutral at Citigroup.

Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPD) was reiterated at Neutral at Goldman.

Sanofi (SNY) was reiterated at Neutral at Guggenheim.

Williams Companies (WMB) was initiated at Neutral at Goldman.

Alliant Energy (LNT) was initiated at Neutral at Mizuho.

Vodafone (VOD) was downgraded from Strong Buy to Market Perform at Raymond James.

Public Service Enterprise Group (PEG) was upgraded from Neutral to Buy at Citigroup.

Exelon (EXC) was downgraded from Buy to Neutral at Citigroup.

Eaton (ETN) was initiated at Buy at Goldman.

Merck (MRK) was resumed at Buy at Guggenheim.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) was initiated at Neutral at Guggenheim.

Novartis (NVS) was initiated at Neutral at Guggenheim.

ONEOK (OKE) was initiated at Neutral at Goldman.

McDonalds (MCD) was upgraded from Neutral to Buy at Guggenheim.

Kimberly Clark (KMB) was downgraded from Hold to Sell at Deutsche Bank.

Newmont Mining (NEM) was initiated at OverWeight at Barclays.

Southern Co (SO) was upgraded to Neutral at Bank of America.

Freeport McMoRan (FCX) was initiated at UnderWeight at Barclays.

NextEra Energy (NEE) was reiterated at OutPerform at Wells Fargo.

Public Service Enterprise Group (PEG) was upgraded to Buy at UBS.

Nucor (NUE) was initiated at Buy at Seaport Global Securities.

Energy Transfer Equity LP (ETE) and Energy Transfer Partners LP (ETP) were both initiated at OutPerform at Credit Suisse.

Kinder Morgan (KMI), Plains All American Pipeline LP (PAA), and Williams Companies (WMB) were all initiated at OutPerform at Credit Suisse.

ONEOK (OKE) and Magellan Midstream Partners LP (MMP) were both initiated at Neutral at Credit Suisse.

American Electric Power (AEP) was reiterated at OverWeight at Morgan Stanley.

Entergy (ETR) was reiterated at Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Hoegh LNG Partners LP (HMLP) was downgraded from OverWeight to Equal Weight at Barclays.

Crestwood Equity Partners LP (CEQP) was reiterated at Equal Weight at Barclays.

Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPD) was reiterated at OverWeight at Barclays.

Eaton (ETN) was initiated at OutPerform at Credit Suisse.

MFA Financial (MFA) was initiated at Market Perform at Raymond James.

Ensco (ESV) and Noble Corp PLC (NE) were both upgraded from Hold to Buy at Societe Generale.

Eaton (ETN) was initiated at Sell at Gordon Haskett.

ONEOK (OKE) was downgraded from OverWeight to Equal Weight at Barclays.

Emerson Electric (EMR) was initiated at Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Ensco (ESV) was upgraded from UnderWeight to Neutral at JP Morgan.

Kinder Morgan (KMI) was reiterated at OverWeight at Barclays.

3M Co (MMM) was initiated at OutPerform at Credit Suisse.

Merck (MRK) was reiterated at OverWeight at Barclays.

3M Co (MMM) was initiated at Buy at Gordon Haskett.

General Electric (GE) was initiated at Neutral at Credit Suisse, and at Sell at Gordon Haskett.  

Note that on upgrades / downgrades, I provide the prior rating if available from my source.

As stated in my opening remarks, the main question at this point is whether the recent market slide is over, or is just pausing a bit before resuming the descent. I have taken advantage of the decline to make some buys, but my personal view is that, although a number of stocks are available at better prices than we have seen in a while, it would not be wise to go “all in” just now, because if the slide resumes, even better prices will be coming soon.

I added to my position in General Mills (GIS) just before the ex-dividend date 10/09/2018, at $43.75, averaging down per my approach. I also initiated a position in a new, somewhat speculative issue, Hi Crush Partners LP (HCLP), at $10.22. While the next ex-dividend date has not been announced, it should be in early November. HCLP is a limited partnership involved in supplying sand to oil and gas well drillers. I will be adding HCLP to my Tier3 list soon.

I am also initiating and / or adding to several holdings of Closed-End Funds (CEFs), but I will identify these in an upcoming article on Seeking Alpha, following up on an earlier article on the topic. I will also be adding a number of CEFs to my Tier3 list as well. To learn more about CEFs, read my (fairly) recent article on Seeking Alpha, “Yield, Value, Safety: Available With Closed-End Funds”.

With the midterm election upcoming in three weeks, I will close by repeating the admonishment always made by the “ex-presidents” bank robber gang leader in Point Break, as played by Patrick Swayze, as he and his group exited a bank they had just robbed, “don’t forget to vote”.

JT

The good news early in the week regarding the new trade agreement with Canada and Mexico was overshadowed later on by surging bond yields, and yet another positive monthly Jobs report was not enough to offset the multi-year bond yield highs.   

Bond yields may be higher than they have been for a while, but not higher than the yields of (most) of the stocks on my lists. Those going ex-dividend this week are listed following, by ex-dividend date. Assume payouts are quarterly unless otherwise noted.

10/08/2018

None.

10/09/2018

General Mills (GIS), yield 4.52%.

Darden Restaurants (DRI), yield 2.77%.

AT&T (T), yield 5.86%.

Verizon (VZ), yield 4.38%.

10/10/2018

None.

10/11/2018

None.

10/12/2018

Mid-America Apartment Communities (MAA), yield 3.76%.

Consolidated Communications Holdings (CNSL), yield 11.65%.

Freeport-McMoRan (FCX), yield 1.47%.

None of my stocks are scheduled to report this week.

Upgrades / downgrades / initiations / reiterations coming out last week regarding my stocks were as follows:

Intel (INTC) was downgraded from Equal Weight to UnderWeight at Barclays.

Cisco Systems (CSCO) was reiterated at OverWeight at Piper Jaffray.

Intel (INTC) was reiterated at Sector Perform at RBC Capital Markets.

Noble Corp PLC (NE) was upgraded to Neutral at Simmons & Co.

Realty Income (O) was downgraded from OverWeight to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

General Electric (GE) was upgraded to OutPerform at Wolfe Research, and also upgraded from Sector Perform to OutPerform at RBC Capital Markets.

Paychex (PAYX) was initiated at Hold at Jeffries, and upgraded from Neutral to OutPerform at Credit Suisse.

Smucker JM Co (SJM) was resumed at Neutral at Bank of America.

Paychex (PAYX) was reiterated at Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley, at Hold at Deutsche Bank, at Market Perform at BMO Capital, at Hold at Stifel, and at Neutral at Citigroup.

Pepsico (PEP) was reiterated at Hold at Deutsche Bank, at Market Perform at BMO Capital, and at Neutral at Citigroup.

Apollo Investment (AINV) was reiterated at OutPerform at Wells Fargo.

BlackRock Capital Investment (BKCC) was reiterated at Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

McDonalds (MCD) was initiated at OverWeight at KeyBanc.

Solar Capital (SLRC) was downgraded from OutPerform to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

Darden Restaurants (DRI) was reiterated at Buy at Citigroup.

Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPD) was reiterated at Strong Buy at Raymond James.

Pepsico (PEP) was reiterated at OverWeight at Morgan Stanley.

Paychex (PAYX) was initiated at Neutral at MoffatNathanson.

HCP Inc (HCP) was downgraded to Neutral at JP Morgan.

Washington Real Estate (WRE) was downgraded from OverWeight to Neutral at JP Morgan.

Pepsico (PEP) was downgraded from OutPerform to Neutral at Macquarie.

ENI S p A (E) was upgraded from Neutral to Buy at Bank of America.

Note that on upgrades / downgrades, I provide the prior rating if available from my source.

As we try to recover from the events in Washington of the week just ended, perhaps we can focus on the economy and our investments during the week ahead. Nahhh, I must be dreaming. It is only going to get worse until at least after the midterms. Hopefully the spectacles observed during the past few weeks will cause a red wave, which may change the tactics of the Democratic party. Only if they conclude these tactics don’t work will there be any improvement. If they conclude they DO work, I hate to think what happens next. Perhaps am American Freikorps will arise.

JT

Stocks mostly declined the first half of the week, with the blue chips taking more hits than the NASDAQ. Then, most stocks posted modest gains on Thursday and Friday. Meanwhile, crude oil, per the benchmark West Texas Intermediate, continued on above the $70 level breached the prior week, ending at a high above $73 on Friday. This is the highest it has been in at least three years, if not longer. Of course, the action this past week was not in stocks, but rather took place in Washington D.C. Now commonly referred to as the circus, it appears that the show will extend performances for another week, since it has been so popular. Lost in the tumult was the fact that another incremental hike in the Federal Funds Rate occurred last week, putting the short-term rate at 2.125%, a new high since the 2008 financial crisis. There may be one more hike this year, if the economy continues to do well, per the current consensus.

Stocks on my lists going ex-dividend this week are listed following, by ex-dividend date. Assume payouts are quarterly unless otherwise noted.

Kimco Realty (KIM), yield 6.67%.

Cisco Systems (CSCO), 2.73%.

Universal Corp (UVV), 4.61%.

Not much dividend activity happening for the first week of October, I must say.

A couple of my stocks will be reporting earnings next week, as follows:

Paychex (PAYX) on 10/2/2018.

Pepsico (PEP) on 10/2/2018.

Upgrades / downgrades / initiations / reiterations coming out last week regarding my stocks were as follows:

AT&T (T) was reiterated at Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Blackstone Group LP (BX) was reiterated at Buy at Bank of America, at Market OutPerform at JMP Securities, and at OverWeight at Morgan Stanley.

Crestwood Equity Partners LP (CEQP) was downgraded to Hold at Stifel.

Darden Restaurants (DRI) was downgraded to UnderPerform at BMO Capital.

Emerson Electric (EMR) was reiterated at OverWeight at Barclays.

Exelon (EXC) was reiterated at OutPerform at Macquarie.

Plains All American Pipeline LP (PAA) was upgraded from Hold to Buy at Stifel.

Public Service Enterprise Group (PEG) was reiterated at OutPerform at Macquarie.

Barrick Gold (ABX) was upgraded from Neutral to Buy at Citigroup, and also was upgraded to Buy at TD Securities. The announcement that ABX will be acquiring Randgold Resources LTD (GOLD) to form an $18 Billion Gold-Mining Giant was favorably received by the market, as evidenced by these ratings upgrades.

Blackstone Group LP (BX) was reiterated Buy at both Argus and Citigroup.

Intel (INTC) was initiated at Sector Weight at KeyBanc, and downgraded from Market Perform to UnderPerform at Raymond James.

ConocoPhillips (COP) was reiterated at OverWeight at Morgan Stanley.

JM Smuckers (SJM) was downgraded from Peer Perform to UnderPerform at Wolfe Research.

Exelon (EXC) was reiterated at Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Public Service Enterprise Group (PEG) was reiterated at OverWeight at Morgan Stanley.

United Parcel Service (UPS) was initiated at Sector Weight at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Eaton (ETN) was reiterated at Buy at Deutsche Bank.

General Electric (GE) was reiterated at Hold at Deutsche Bank.

HCP Inc (HCP) was upgraded from Neutral to OverWeight at Cantor Fitzgerald.

3M Co (MMM) was reiterated at Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Pepsico (PEP) was reiterated at OutPerform at Macquarie.

Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) was initiated at OutPerform at Wolfe Research.

Note that on upgrades / downgrades, I provide the prior rating if available from my source.

September has concluded with stocks modestly higher than a month ago. As the mid-terms approach, the over-heating political environment will likely get even more intense. Barring some major, game-changing geo-political or other development, I expect October will be similar to September, as far as the markets are concerned. November may be a different story, especially if a “blue wave” occurs, threatening the current favorable business and investment climate. One thing I can predict with confidence is that it won’t be dull.

JT